http://mmajunkie.comAsk Frank Trigg (21-8) about his fight at BAMMA 7 with “Judo” Jim Wallhead (21-5), and his voice takes on a sullen, grumbly tone that suggests he’d rather be talking about the latest episode of “CSI” than his chosen profession.

Sure, it’s a headliner, another payday, and a chance to build a nice little win streak of three fights.

It’s just not what he really wanted.

BAMMA 7 takes place Sept. 10 at NIA Arena in Birmingham, England. The event streams live on the promotion’s website, www.bamma.net.

You see, Trigg thought he was going to fight BAMMA champ Tom Watson. Watson was the opponent he wanted, and for a short spell, it was the opponent he had. But things quickly went south, and Trigg is not exactly sure why.

“He signed the contract, and then like 20 minutes later, (he) puts out this big report … ‘I don’t know why Frank Trigg would want to fight me. Now, all of the sudden, he finds out that I’m hurt,'” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I hadn’t signed yet. I was like, ‘Hold on a second. I don’t understand what’s happening here.'”

Sure, Wallhead is a good replacement opponent. But he’s usually a welterweight. After fighting much of his career in that class, Trigg is trying to reinvent himself at 185 pounds, and Watson provided the opportunity to do that.

“I’m disappointed because I wanted to fight a guy that’s about to break into the top 10 at 185 and see if I’m equivalent to these guys,” he said. “Then I wanted to see where I am physically, emotionally and mentally with a guy like that through getting ready for a five-rounder in a training camp. All of the sudden it drops off to a three-rounder, and we’ve got to reset some stuff.”

Retooling your fight preparation is, of course, a major part of the fight game. Opponent switches happen all the time, and you have to be able to accept whatever new challenge is put ahead. You don’t, however, have to like it, and that’s just about where Trigg stands. He’s trying to live with it.

“[Wallhead] wants a shot to come in and see if he can’t (beat me),” Trigg said. “He’s got good judo, so he thinks it’s going to be hard for me to take him down. He’s got good English boxing. And if anybody’s seen any kind of (my) fights, the fights you’re really looking at are (Josh) Koscheck and the (Matt) Serra fight. I got knocked out in both of those, so they’re going, ‘What are we going to do?’ And I’m looking at the Rick Hawn fight from Bellator – well, it’s two Judo guys. So they’re going to box, of course, and neither guy is going to take the other guy down.

“So nothing against Wallhead, but I’m kind of in a lose-lose situation. If I don’t beat him up in the first round, I’m kind of stuck. If it goes to decision, it’s kind of a moral victory for him. But I’ve got to fight. I’ve got to be on the card.”

Trigg stops himself. He doesn’t need to be on a fight card. But he sure wants to be, and now that the gears are in motion, he’s motivated to win for another reason: He doesn’t want to be embarrassed.

Lose to a welterweight? No way.

“That’s like me going out there, and as much as I love Urijah Faber, I don’t want Urijah Faber to beat me up in a match,” he said. “I want to beat the crap out of him.”

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